MADE IN AUSTRALIA
The Australian Heritage Hotel, The Rocks
100% DOING IT AUSSIE “W
e have our own cattle [at Bilambil Heights, NSW] on about 450 acres, just inland from the Gold Coast at Tweed Heads,” says Deniz Coskun, Executive Chef for the Queensland-based Mantle Group Hospitality. “It’s a beautiful piece of land – I keep saying to the boss we should have a wedding venue up there – luscious green grass overlooking the Gold Coast, it’s stunning. We take our head chefs out there and go mustering.” Coskun and the leadership team at Mantle aren’t in it, however, for the scenery. They’re one of a number of groups taking the provenance and sourcing of their ingredients incredibly seriously and looking to reap the rewards. “Just last year, food made up 50% of the sales, so it’s a huge part of our business,” says Coskun. “In every venue we open, we certainly put a big emphasis on the kitchens, the food and having a restaurant within our fitouts. It’s definitely a main target of ours.” Over at Merivale, Jordan Toft is witnessing the emergence of a defined Australian cuisine.
FROM PERTH TO BRISBANE AND ALL POINTS IN-BETWEEN, THE GREAT AUSSIE PUB HAS NEVER BEEN MORE AUSTRALIAN. CRAIG HAWTIN-BUTCHER TALKED TO EXEC CHEFS ACROSS AUSTRALIA, FROM SOLOTEL TO MERIVALE, MANTLE TO AUSTRALIAN VENUE CO, ABOUT WHY SOURCING 100% AUSTRALIAN FOOD AND BEVERAGE MAKES PERFECT ECONOMIC SENSE.
The Executive Chef of Coogee Pavilion, The Newport and The Collaroy says, “Australia’s size allows for different climates during different seasons and therefore we have a vast variety of produce coming from our lands. Australian cuisine is hard to define and an area for interpretation. We have generally taken techniques from other cuisines while morphing it to Australian taste using our Australian sensibilities. “There has been a rise in native Australian products available and in use which may push us into a cuisine we can definitively call Australian.”
FOIS GRAS FORCED OUT “In my younger years it was all about the French bries and fois gras, imported stuff and imported wines” says Telina Menzies, Executive Chef at Australian Venue Co. “In WA especially [where Menzies hails from] they’re very proud. The guys in Perth are very proud of the local produce, and now when we’re writing menus we’re trying to source the best local produce I can and support local
producers … before I reach out anywhere else, but definitely Australian. We’ve got the best seafood in the world, and a lot of sustainable stuff. We’re producing great beef, and the cheeses these days are really world class. We’re really progressing.” For some, like Solotel’s Group Executive Chef Sebastian Lutaud, using Australiansourced produce is no longer a question – it’s simply heavily engrained in their business. “As a business, in terms of pushing Australian, we’ve been doing the right thing for a while,” says Lutaud. “We would be pretty much 90% all-Australian for our food. 100% we support Australian, most of what we get is from New South Wales and Victoria.” The main issue is adapting to fluctuating prices as a result of the drought. “Last year we got an increase of lamb of 30% and we ended up copping a bit of that as a business. It’s about educating our guests about prices. If I was to put 30% onto the price of lamb we received, I don’t think anyone would pay for it. “Profitability is harder every day, to be honest,” says Lutaud. “Two weeks ago I got
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